Create an Organization for the masses

[John T.]

Just pounding some idea's. There are so many organizations that are aimed for a specific groups such as the Ceta organization Cleaning Equipment Trade Association that is not for the end user but more for the Distributors and Manufacturers. A newer org such as The Grease Police The Grease Police is for the Hood Cleaner contractors and there distributors.

Other people are looking to start local groups for there State or area such as Celeste with PWNC There all good idea's.

The national idea from my experiences is still a good idea for educational purposes for Approved and if insured correctly for Certification Classes. I see how that is important and I am not knocking by no means groups that want to stay within there geographical area's of employment. If one was to ever spring up in NY I would look into it for my business.

So what I'm getting at is there a way to have a national org. that has more to offer besides for the Distributors/Manufacturers but for the every day contractor that is not a newbie?? Is there a way to have booths not only for the Distributors/Manufacturers but also for the Contractors to draw potential jobs from?? Is there a way to draw the Property managers to go to these type conventions to not so much see what the equipment being sold to the end user would be but for them to see some Demo's and to also stop by a booth to look for potential contractors to sign up?? I can't not yet think of a way to make this work for Residential only washers since a Convention would be maybe only once a year in a select state. Doesn't mean that can't work also.

So is it possible to have an org. that could draw so many more contractors that all could benefit tremendously from??

Could there be a plan in place to make this happen??

In case anyone is wondering...no I do not have a plan on how to make this work. Besides $$$$$ always being needed I wonder if a plan could be implemented to bring this to fruition.

There is down sides if this could work. One of them could be upsetting other Organizations. Communication would have to be a top priority to keep many doors opened for alliances and more importantly to keep Progress moving in the RIGHT direction.

[Beth n Rod]

So many good points John,
Creating any interest in an organization must have a common purpose in order for it to gain any support.
In short, what is the org's purpose, what is it going to do for the membership?
We need to define these questions in order to gain a bearing on which way it should go. This will draw feedback from the masses who have particular needs or can perceive the benefits from the answers to those questions.
In the past, people have asked for these:
Training and certification in various areas including the field they focus on or wish to branch into. Also, business training such as in accounting, business management, Computer applications skills, etc.

Now the question becomes who is qualified to train and what makes it credible to the masses?

For the field specific training, there are no accredited schools to train power washing, but there are people already knowledgeable in the trade who for a nominal fee (accommodations/travel expenses) pass on their skills and techniques. Trying to get someone to do it for free will not get anyone of caliber to step up, nor will it add any credibility to the course if the person(s) lack the ability to properly train or educate others.

The one fact that should be kept in mind is this: A candidate who possesses the skills to power wash themselves does not mean they are necessarily proficient at imbuing those skill into others. I support this statement with the fact of how many 1-2 man shows are currently in existence. Being a trainer takes someone with a higher degree of communication skills who can show they have effectively lead, trained and supervised multiple successful crews. We would need to establish a criterion for candidacy.

How do we entice these types of individuals to become an educator for the org? My suggestion is to consider looking to accredited training schools for education of qualified individuals for the purpose of becoming an accredited trainer within the org. in whatever field they specialize in. Then you will have some credible people that can effectively be in a class setting and become an asset to the program. In turn, this person would have the credentials for their use in business as well. Win-win. I myself have thought about taking a course myself as it would greatly benefit my business having that as an accolade. Please do not misconstrue this as a self-nomination though. I just wanted to post an example of my view on the subject.

For non-field specific training, we could also look to accredited schools to offer a co-op program of teaching in the name of the org for the benefit of the members. Perhaps being a non-profit org the tuition could be at a lower rate.

There are a growing number of legal immigrants who do not speak english well enough yet that could warrant taking some classes in another language in order to promote better communications and training of these particular individuals. This would produce better results for the company as instructions would be better followed and understood by the worker(s) leading to better business overall.

This is the leading cause of the stigma towards alternate language speaking people and the barriers within. I realize that a number of people do not believe they should have to speak another language in their own country but lets be realistic here. We are a sole nation that holds to only speaking one language while the rest of the world embraces others in order to seek out the advantages of being multi-lingual and removing the barriers to a broaden their business reach.

This could be another aim of the org to unite the cultures by supporting other nationalities with documentation, communication and training in alternate languages. Yes, I tend to think out of the box a bit. They call people who think this way ... Entrepreneurs. We all have a bit of it in us.

Ok, I have addressed the training part. What else should an org be in place for? How about the power of numbers? Large Organizations have buying power and can offer benefits to it's membership for various business needs such as insurances. To expound on that, Car insurance, health insurance, business insurance, equipment insurance. These can be under one policy or more but the example is here.

How about a support network for those in economic or environmental hardship?
This is one that is currently proposed by Carlos aka Newlook to help those in the drought stricken areas of the US.

How about establishing better relations with manufacturers, distributors aka vendors through their offerings that could be solicited by the org to be available perhaps at a discount for the members who have a need for the particular products or services that vendor may have?

How about the org becoming an advisory council for the vendors to help them in the R & D of new products to help benefit both the vendor and end user?

How about the org developing, creating, or endorsing some business aids for the members that help them in their business and at the same time carry the orgs logo?
How about creating alliances between the trade organizations you mentioned in concert with the vendors to include all facets of this industry to find a common need?

I could go on, but there are so many others with great ideas that I will stop here.

My point in short is to find a reason for the org to exist that a majority can relate to and get behind in both support and participation. It will need both in order to warrant launching and sustaining.

I will join in with you here John and ask that people step forward and show support and find time to participate once the org becomes established.
From what was discussed at Tom's RT, there are in fact some 60,000+ companies doing some form of power washing in the US and only about 1% of them ever come on the web to participate in bbs posting. We are the minority here in bbs land and it is the other 99% that we need to reach.

There are many who do not want an org or fail to see the need or benefit of one. If that's the case, step aside and let those who want to be a part of it to come forward without interference or disparaging comments so they can concentrate on the participation. My position is that one cannot ethically complain without ever intending to be a participant. So, on that note, I will ask that people with questions or concerns also come to the table with a solution to be considered by those active in the effort. This helps to keep things productive and proactive. Thank you.
Back to you John...

Rod!~

[newlook]

I agree, I agree, I agree on all points. I think we all have been thinking about the same components of whats needed but maybe explaining them a little different.

I have said what I needed to say publicly about the organization and the participation that is needed from EVERYONE in order for this to work.

[PWNC]

I would still keep things in small bites - let those who have organizational skills come together and do the outline, those with teaching credentials group together for handling education needs. As simplistic as it may sound, before creating a full blown org - create committees or small groups to take the responsibility to address the needs/wants of the potential membership. Although laying the full foundation is the most solid means of building, this industry lacks the mortar to hold it all together right now. By creating different components first, the foundation will automatically come with the support and will be a rock solid base to continue building on.

Although I do NOT have the time to participate in a national endeavor, I have enough respect for those who do to try to be supportive.

Celeste

[plainpainter]

You know something folks - you gotta look at this from a different point of view. Firstly define your goals - and then recast all your thoughts and language into the language of war. Financial people do this, politicians do it - you have to study the tactics of the likes of Alexander the Great, Napolean Bonaparte, read Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War'. Then draw up your battle plans. You're not trying to kill soldiers on the 'other' side. But you can draw analogies and recast into the language of war. For instance already you have an army that consists of 1% of all the soldiers vs. another army with the remainder 99%. What military tactics would get them to come to your side? What battles will you fight to divide and conquer? I think right off the bat - you can see with little effort, that a 'national' fight with 1% you and 99% them is going to fail. The military tactics of Rumsfeld small but lean fighting divisions and their modularity - is something that was developed from Alexander the Great. I'd take something from that. Like get a bunch of members together and narrow your focus on one thing and one thing only - it could be flatwork, grease, residential, whatever - and there is a battalion for each segment - the grease police would be the battalion for the kitchen work.
And then once you picked your market and demographic - you merge the different battalions and strike this one particular demographic. The combined strength of the different battalions focused on one small region on one element of pressure washing could literally change that area. You could force the opposition to join forces or be put out of business due to being flooded with the combined forces of the enemy. And then once you have secured a demographic. The battalions detach, go back to their 'chores', until you pick another fight somewhere else, but now with more 'soldiers' and ammunition on your side for the next fight. Think war war war!

I mean can you imagine for instance putting commercials on TV in a specific region showing some hack pressure washers F'ing up some house - and then the scene changes to a real professional crew with good clean uniforms and courtesy to the customer, with a glowing referal at the end of the commercial coming from the homeowners - and then the 'org' logo stamp of approval. If everyone pooled resources and focused time, energy, and $$$. What homeower would hire the hack in those areas? TV commercials sell cars, why not clean professional pressure washing crews?

[Beth n Rod]

Daniel,
Scott Millen put it quite eloquently at the RT when he said this "I think we are in violent agreement here".
Although I think we are thinking along the same vein, I would prefer not to be involved in something that is as aggressively authoritarian mannered as war. History has shown us that war is made to make money flow, create enemies and influence by way of fear and tyranny. War has secrets and elitist channeling which too many have complained about that one in particular, myself being one of them. War makes victims and creates propaganda. That is my view on it. I think we have an org in current existence that conforms largely to those war characteristics and we don't want to duplicate that again.

There are some commonalities in what we have suggested but the mindset is a fine line between forming something for all and something for the few.
Cooperation should be the foremost factor as in a team. Everyone working towards the same goals but in smaller units designated to specific tasks.

This org needs to be managed in a business manner with all the aspects visible and actionable for all participants. Otherwise, it creates animosity and subjugates the reasons for forming it to begin with.

Just my views. I am not right or wrong, but I am participating.

Rod!~

[plainpainter]

Well, Rod, I understand that you don't want to think in aggressive ways. But isn't marketing and sales a form of war tactics? I knew guys that use to be painters by word of mouth. Now - you have to go out there and put your 'propaganda' up, like slogans that demonstrate you do a better job than the competition, mass fliers, ads, etc. And to me an org would be beneficial if it could come into an area with lots of $$$ support for overwhelming advertizing.

[Beth n Rod]

Sorry Dan,
Propaganda and marketing/advertising are not the same. At least not in the sense of how we (as business owners) do it. We don't spread hate or lies to make ourselves seem better than our competitors because we have to back it up with facts or else it is fraudulent.

Maybe this will help you understand my point of view. I am a team player who believes things should be fair and equal especially in the arena of volunteers.
Don't mis-interpret my statement on aggressive authoritarian ways vs being aggressive in business. We wouldn't be where we are now if either of us wasn't aggressive in some manner. It's the nature of the beast if you will. Only the strong survive and all that jive.

I am certain that a committee will explore some of your suggestions among all the others, I just wanted to point out the downsides to what you were suggesting. Maybe it could be that the state of the nations economy combined with the current war is not a very popular topic with me.

I agree that $$$$ is going to be a major obstacle without fund raising events to help in addition to spreading awareness and rallying support. I don't call it propaganda but spreading the word about something new for the benefit of those who would choose to be a part of it... an Opportunity.

Rod!~

[Mathew Johnson]

Originally Posted by Beth n Rod

So many good points John,
Creating any interest in an organization must have a common purpose in order for it to gain any support.
In short, what is the org's purpose, what is it going to do for the membership?
We need to define these questions in order to gain a bearing on which way it should go. This will draw feedback from the masses who have particular needs or can perceive the benefits from the answers to those questions.
In the past, people have asked for these:
Training and certification in various areas including the field they focus on or wish to branch into. Also, business training such as in accounting, business management, Computer applications skills, etc.

Now the question becomes who is qualified to train and what makes it credible to the masses?

For the field specific training, there are no accredited schools to train power washing, but there are people already knowledgeable in the trade who for a nominal fee (accommodations/travel expenses) pass on their skills and techniques. Trying to get someone to do it for free will not get anyone of caliber to step up, nor will it add any credibility to the course if the person(s) lack the ability to properly train or educate others.

The one fact that should be kept in mind is this: A candidate who possesses the skills to power wash themselves does not mean they are necessarily proficient at imbuing those skill into others. I support this statement with the fact of how many 1-2 man shows are currently in existence. Being a trainer takes someone with a higher degree of communication skills who can show they have effectively lead, trained and supervised multiple successful crews. We would need to establish a criterion for candidacy.

How do we entice these types of individuals to become an educator for the org? My suggestion is to consider looking to accredited training schools for education of qualified individuals for the purpose of becoming an accredited trainer within the org. in whatever field they specialize in. Then you will have some credible people that can effectively be in a class setting and become an asset to the program. In turn, this person would have the credentials for their use in business as well. Win-win. I myself have thought about taking a course myself as it would greatly benefit my business having that as an accolade. Please do not misconstrue this as a self-nomination though. I just wanted to post an example of my view on the subject.

For non-field specific training, we could also look to accredited schools to offer a co-op program of teaching in the name of the org for the benefit of the members. Perhaps being a non-profit org the tuition could be at a lower rate.

There are a growing number of legal immigrants who do not speak english well enough yet that could warrant taking some classes in another language in order to promote better communications and training of these particular individuals. This would produce better results for the company as instructions would be better followed and understood by the worker(s) leading to better business overall.

This is the leading cause of the stigma towards alternate language speaking people and the barriers within. I realize that a number of people do not believe they should have to speak another language in their own country but lets be realistic here. We are a sole nation that holds to only speaking one language while the rest of the world embraces others in order to seek out the advantages of being multi-lingual and removing the barriers to a broaden their business reach.

This could be another aim of the org to unite the cultures by supporting other nationalities with documentation, communication and training in alternate languages. Yes, I tend to think out of the box a bit. They call people who think this way ... Entrepreneurs. We all have a bit of it in us.

Ok, I have addressed the training part. What else should an org be in place for? How about the power of numbers? Large Organizations have buying power and can offer benefits to it's membership for various business needs such as insurances. To expound on that, Car insurance, health insurance, business insurance, equipment insurance. These can be under one policy or more but the example is here.

How about a support network for those in economic or environmental hardship?
This is one that is currently proposed by Carlos aka Newlook to help those in the drought stricken areas of the US.

How about establishing better relations with manufacturers, distributors aka vendors through their offerings that could be solicited by the org to be available perhaps at a discount for the members who have a need for the particular products or services that vendor may have?

How about the org becoming an advisory council for the vendors to help them in the R & D of new products to help benefit both the vendor and end user?

How about the org developing, creating, or endorsing some business aids for the members that help them in their business and at the same time carry the orgs logo?
How about creating alliances between the trade organizations you mentioned in concert with the vendors to include all facets of this industry to find a common need?

I could go on, but there are so many others with great ideas that I will stop here.

My point in short is to find a reason for the org to exist that a majority can relate to and get behind in both support and participation. It will need both in order to warrant launching and sustaining.

I will join in with you here John and ask that people step forward and show support and find time to participate once the org becomes established.
From what was discussed at Tom's RT, there are in fact some 60,000+ companies doing some form of power washing in the US and only about 1% of them ever come on the web to participate in bbs posting. We are the minority here in bbs land and it is the other 99% that we need to reach.

There are many who do not want an org or fail to see the need or benefit of one. If that's the case, step aside and let those who want to be a part of it to come forward without interference or disparaging comments so they can concentrate on the participation. My position is that one cannot ethically complain without ever intending to be a participant. So, on that note, I will ask that people with questions or concerns also come to the table with a solution to be considered by those active in the effort. This helps to keep things productive and proactive. Thank you.
Back to you John...

Rod!~

Rod... You have excellent insight about your subject matter here.... If you all stay the course, there will be success in everyone's endeavor